Under such protection, anti-abortion protesters wouldn’t be allowed within 150 metres of the Windsor Regional Hospital property line — meaning they’d be banned from their usual demonstration spots on Tecumseh Road East and surrounding streets.

“No woman is excited about the prospect of abortion. It’s terrifying. It’s a deeply private and emotional experience,” said Julie Edwards, who started Feminists for Action with Lauren Crowley in January.

“Women who need to have an abortion … do not need to see protesters on the street with graphic signage, whose message is aimed at discouraging individuals from seeking the services they are entitled to receive.”

Crowley added: “Everyone should be able to access the health services available to them with dignity — without fear of judgement or being shamed.”

A placard carried by an anti-abortion protester on Tecumseh Road East near Windsor Regional Hospital’s Met Campus in April 2011.Nick Brancaccio /
Windsor Star

Windsor Regional Hospital’s Met Campus at 1995 Lens Ave. is the only place in the city where abortions can be had. Windsor has no free-standing abortion clinics.

The petition by Feminists for Action was started in expectation of 40 Days For Life — a yearly Christian-based anti-abortion campaign that will stage day-long vigils at the Met Campus from March 6 to April 14.

According to instructions from 40 Days For Life to its members, protesters will stand with signs on the sidewalks of Tecumseh Road East, and walk around the hospital on Kildare Road, Alsace Avenue, and Byng Road “without obstructing traffic or parking entrances.”

“We are not allowed on Lens Avenue,” 40 Days For Life emphasizes to participants. “Do not enter the hospital complex on Lens Avenue.”

But that’s not enough for Feminists for Action, who believe that women who have just had abortions should not be subjected to the sight of anti-abortion signs.

“Frankly, any person who has undergone this procedure deserves to be in a healing environment, rather than to be faced with protesters,” Edwards said.

Related

After the Safe Access to Abortion Services Act became law in 2017, hospital president and CEO David Musyj said WRH would not ask for a protection zone, as the anti-abortion protesters have never set foot on hospital property and there have been no complaints from patients or visitors.

Hospital spokesman Steve Erwin said this week that Musyj plans on looking at the new request from Feminists for Action, and bringing the issue to the WRH board of directors for further review.

Erwin added that WRH is “unaware of any hospital in Ontario making this application,” although the issue bears closer examination.

“To date, we haven’t received any complaints or concerns about (the protester) presence,” Erwin stated.

But Edwards feels women who have recently undergone abortions may not be willing to express their concerns and discomfort with protesters.

“We understand (protesters) are not going on to the hospital grounds. But at the end of the day, there are patients and their families leaving the hospital who are coming face-to-face with people judging them and persecuting them for the decision they made.”

Julie Edwards (left) and Lauren Crowley (right), founders of Feminists for Action, stand near the Met Campus of Windsor Regional Hospital on Feb. 21, 2019. The newly formed feminist group is petitioning WRH to request a “bubble-zone protection” from the province that would keep anti-abortion protesters 150 metres from the hospital property line.Dax Melmer /
Windsor Star

Crowley said: “I think it’s important for the hospital, in advocating for compassionate care for patients, to ensure it is taking all available action to protect those patients.”

Asked if the safe zone that Feminists for Action is seeking diminishes anti-abortion activists’ right to demonstrate and free speech, Edwards said it’s a matter of compassion. “We are asking for them to act within their rights in a different venue.”

Crowley said it’s not the objective of Feminists for Action to argue with the protesters.

“We understand they have their views on termination of pregnancy. They are entitled to those views. Our push is for the hospital to protect its patients — not to tell the protesters their views are wrong.”

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